Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 39, Number 76, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 May 1907 — SUNDAY CYCLONE GREAT DAMAGE. [ARTICLE]

SUNDAY CYCLONE GREAT DAMAGE.

Narrow Strip of lonatry Swept By High Wind That Is Not Noticed In Town. O , * *► Jost about 5 o’clock Sanday afternoon and preceding the very heavy rain in town, a cyclone raged thru the country west and north of here, that did great damage, tearing down many barns and corn cribs and destroying many orchards and in a few cases partly unroofing houses. Apparently there was no t wind at all in town- at that time, but it became suddenly very cloudy and dark and low hanging black clouds moved rapidly fropg the southwest to the northeast. Rain fell in torrents and some hail accompanied the storm. In about 20 minutes .85 or close to an inch of rain had decended.

The scope of the cyclone seems to have been about 6or 8 rods wide and it lasted about tea minutes. At the A. K. Sayler farm, west of town about three miles, members of the family were able to watch the storm all thru the time that it raged. At first it seemed to strike the house and then to turn farther north. Mr. and Mrs. Sayler were returning home and fearing for their safety one of the daughters had gone down the road to meet them. Before she reached them the buggy had turned over and they were thrown out and somewhat shaken up, tho not seriously injured. When they reached the house, they fouud that the barn had been completely demolished, being scattered to the northeast for many rods. The corn cribs arid granary were not much damaged bnt fences were down and practically the entire orchard of abaijfcs(l trees was blown down. ■

Joseph Yeoman, ->f Rensselaer, who in company, with his brother-in-law, Joseph Moore, of Trafalgar,* and., who had been at R. J. Yeomans, on further west than the Sayler farm, were returning home when the storm overtook them, and /they were overturned, the buggy being considerably mashed up, and both of them being somewhat injured. They were near Mr. Saylor’s house and made their way there, and were later brought to town by >ussell Sayler. A doctor was called and found neither seriously injured, altho Mr. Yeoman had severely strained his neck.

The first beard of the storm was from ovgr sooth of Mt. Ayr, ,where it blew down many barns, cribs, implement sheds, wind mills, devastated orchards, and occasionally struck; a .house doing more or less damage to it, The farm residence of Sam K6n nedy, south of Mt. Ayr was turned around on its foundation. Mr. Kennedy and brother, Pinder Kennedy, were in the barn lot when the worst of the sto m raged and were both knocked down, and finder Kennedy is said to have been badly injured. Marion Corbin and Henry Brunton both had barns blown down. Mt. Ayr no wind, damage oc Cprred, but reports from there say that the largest hail ever seen fell, some of them measuring 7j inches in circumference. At Benton Kelley’s farm, in Newton tp., the barn and all the ont buildings were Mown down, and many trees in orchard and grove were twisted off. The next place hit after the A. K, Sayler farm was the Churchill farm, where a new barn erected last year, was overturned and quite thoroly demolished, A corner of the bouse roof was also taken off. A machine shed on the H. O. Harris farm, occupied by Mike Nagle, was blown over, 'and - some other small buildings on the John Mqkhexer farm, occupied by Wrn. Shefri ck. At the Bruce Porter farm li

miles directly north of town, occupied by his son-in-law, Will Clark, the roof was partly torn off the house, a ne v chicken coop was carried some fifty feet and jamfxd into the roof of a large corn, 1 crib, and a shed waß carried two hundred feet and distributed over • the ground for some distance* At this place the Bruner telephone wires are down, many poles being broken— - —— The next heard of the storm was at the R. A Darkinson farm, north east of town, about 8 miles. The farm is f occupied by Bovee Makeever. Several, sheds weie blown over, and one bog was killed by a Ified falling on it. Trees were also blown over. The report in town that great damage was done in the neighborhood of Pleasant Grove was not confirmed, and it is probable* the storm had about spent its fnry when the R. A. Parkinson farm was struck.